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Around 15% of the GPs who responded to Pulse’s survey said they had turned to alcohol, prescription drugs or both to help them ‘deal with work pressures’.

One GP – who wished to remain anonymous – said: ‘I drink a bottle of wine most evenings after work, and often take codeine to help me sleep. I’m also on long-term antidepressants, as are a lot of my colleagues.’

Other respondents had similar stories: ‘I’m more likely to drink a glass of wine on a work night than on a non-work day’; ‘I started self-treating, perhaps stupidly’; ‘I’m on melatonin bought abroad to help sleep’; and ‘I don’t think I could work without fluoxetine’.

A number of GPs told Pulse how the pressure affects patient care, with many citing the effect on their empathy and commitment to the profession.

Dr Stephen Aras, a GP in West London, said: ‘I care less about me and my career – I have to “care less” or else the pain would be too much to bear.’

Other GPs referred to ‘getting irritated with patients when it is not their fault’, and ‘compassion fatigue’.

It also affects other areas of the job: a few GPs highlight ‘taking more shortcuts’ and ‘a reduced willingness to take on risk’. One said ‘the sheer volume and pressures mean my recordkeeping is awful’.

Exeter GP Dr Kate Dick summed up the message of the survey, saying: ‘Sheer volume of work is making me less sympathetic at the end of the day and after a full day on duty I still have to offer an extended hours routine surgery from 6.30 to 7.30pm for working patients. I am not the best GP I could be at this time.’

Former RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada, who runs the GP Health service, said: ‘‘It’s worrying that one in 10 doctors go home and use alcohol to relax. That’s high. With prescription drugs, even 6% is a significant number who have expressly gone to their doctor for benzodiazepines and antidepressants to address work-related stress.’

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘We fully understand GPs are on the front line when it comes to dealing with rising patient demand. This is why we have launched a world-first, nationally funded service to support GPs and GP trainees suffering mental ill health and addiction, while implementing measures to boost the wider primary care workforce and reduce individual GP workload.’

If you are worried about your health, then you are able to access free counselling in England from the GP Health Service. Click here for more details.

Not sure where you're going with this.Are the figures worse than any other comparable profession,teachers,social workers etc.Are they getting worse,I suspect more than one in seven of my generation used alcohol,for stress,to sleep,and for the sheer joy of it.How do the figures compare with GP's in other countries e.g Southern IrelandFor all her worrying, this is the role into which HSL is trying to push as many young doctors as possible,presumably on the basis of a cold calculation that it is a price worth paying.It would not be unreasonable to talk about heat and kitchens.It is fundamentally ludicrous to suggest there is any plan to address it now or in the future.

Is it possible that the legions of sanctimonious bearded worthies sponsored by a college in fantasy land,who sit on endless selection committees,applying idiotic criteria,are simply rubbish at their job

What I am fearing is while many will be showing empathy towards these figures about how much stress we are under, one can never prevent right wing propagandists and demagogues from spinning ruthlessly , labelling GPs as ‘unsafe’. We all know regulatory bodies like GMC and CQC had been entirely receptive to pressure from the public and media , with the ego of ‘we are the protectors of the public’ ,instead of being more facilating and supportive . The vicious cycle mechanism set up will, no doubt, crowd out even more practising GPs .

Instead of helping lessen the paperwork, now GMC, CQC and NHS England will call for more regulations, more controlled drugs, more daily appraisals and we need alcohol testing on a daily basis to work. More regulations to keep patient safe and avoid the threat of the doctors who obviously took the trouble to go to medical school to kill them.